Citation

Gase LN, Gomez LM, Kuo T, Glenn BA, Inkelas M, Ponce NA. J. Sch. Health 2017; 87(5): 319-328.

Affiliation

Center for Health Policy Research, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, 10960 Wilshire Blvd., Ste 1550, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, American School Health Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/josh.12501

PMID

28382671

Abstract

BACKGROUND: School climate is an integral part of a comprehensive approach to improving the well-being of students; however, little is known about the relationships between its different domains and measures. We examined the relationships between student, staff, and administrative measures of school climate to understand the extent to which they were related to each other and student outcomes.

METHODS: The sample included 33,572 secondary school students from 121 schools in Los Angeles County during the 2014-2015 academic year. A multilevel regression model was constructed to examine the association between the domains and measures of school climate and 5 outcomes of student well-being: depressive symptoms or suicidal ideation, tobacco use, alcohol use, marijuana use, and grades.

RESULTS: Student, staff, and administrative measures of school climate were weakly correlated. Strong associations were found between student outcomes and student reports of engagement and safety, while school staff reports and administrative measures of school climate showed limited associations with student outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS: As schools seek to measure and implement interventions aimed at improving school climate, consideration should be given to grounding these efforts in a multidimensional conceptualization of climate that values student perspectives and includes elements of both engagement and safety.

© 2017, American School Health Association.

Language: en

Keywords

school climate; school improvement; school safety; student perceptions; teacher perceptions